Emergency Dental Care at Home: Pain Relief & Temporary Fixes

A dental emergency can be a horrible experience, especially if you cannot get to a dentist right away. Fortunately, there are a few things that can be done at home to make the pain manageable until you can make an appointment with a dentist.

Things You'll Need

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Dental floss
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup of warm water
• Over-the-counter dental emergency kit
• Over-the-counter topical pain reliever, such as Orajel or Anbesol

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Instructions

• 1

  Brush your teeth well and floss between all the teeth you can. If it is too painful to brush and floss you can skip this step.

• 2

  Mix 2 tsp. of salt with 1 cup of warm water and stir until all of the salt crystals are dissolved.

• 3

  Rinse your mouth with the saltwater mixture by taking a mouthful, swishing it for 30 seconds, spitting, then repeating until the whole cup has been used. Repeat this a few times a day to prevent infections.

• 4

  Take the dental emergency kit and follow the directions on the package to repair dental injury involving a broken tooth, lost filling or lost cap. Generally, these kits include a filling material that starts out soft but hardens when it contacts saliva. You may need to practice a few times to get it placed correctly.

• 5

  Apply pain reliever according to the dosage instructions on the package.